Interesting People

Do you like your job, but it has become a bit boring? Feel like you need more challenges? Let master career coach, Unre Visagie show how to use your current job and get access to greater opportunities.

Slide 1 (My job is great – I am ready for more challenges)

We are talking today about ‘I’m ready for more challenges’, that very privileged position where I have choices; I can choose which challenges I say yes to, and which challenges I say no to. It is interesting that people always have perceived limitations, and if that is removed through information and a certain process, they get to a space of unlimited opportunity. This is all about choosing the challenges, that wonderful thing ‘choice’ that is the spice and the wealth of life. So few people ever feel they have choices in life.

If we break free from those perceptions, you can see these perceptions as cages or prisons, situations where they don’t have the key to move forward and nobody else is going to come and open the door. It’s always you that has the key, you only need to know that you have it and how to use it. If you move to opportunity experiences people see that with this system they get 15 – 30 percent increases within six to eighteen months by communicating differently to different people. Saying yes to the right things, and no to the things they should. There is a quote: “No is the most profitable word in the English language.” I find there is a lot of truth in that. This is the secure, safe and certain way to get to the ideal challenges for you. Get hold of them, make them yours, it will grow your career like a rocket, and never again will you feel in a perceived box.

Slide 2 (What can be done to get rid of the trapped feelings?)

Now we have established that you are ready for more challenges. Remember that when we work together, we invest and benefit together. If you take to other people what they want you will definitely get more of what you want. It always works; it’s also called delayed gratification. When you work hard in a direction; the better you plan it, the better your insight and clarity, the better chance you have of collecting in the end. How do you move forward? Waiting for others is never an option; they are busy with their own stuff as each of you know.

How do I communicate what I already do, understand and value? Which challenges I’m keen on, why am I keen on them, what am I prepared to do to get the challenges I want? From these I will gain hugely, apart from the fun, you will also earn money. It is simply a matter of communicating correctly to be paid right for what you do; the decision makers must understand what you do. If we can manage to look around the molehills that are in front of us and appear very big, we can see the blue mountains beyond which we can go and climb. The problem is the molehill is right in front of our nose.

Slide 3 (The solution to break the traps and get rid of the frustrations)

Working together, investing and benefiting together there is a solution to break out of those perceived limitations, perceived meaning they don’t give it to me, I go and take it. You have to know what you currently do for whom and what you want to do next. You have to prepare and communicate what you do and what you want to do appropriately to influencers and decision makers, giving them what they want, it’s often as cheap as a thank you. Then engage and communicate the work and the value as you see it going forward. That will engage you in further input to make the right choices, that you choose the challenges with higher value and more certain arrival. It’s very important to know that if you keep on doing the same thing you will probably end up with less, because the effort goes in, the days goes by, and you don’t make the gain you deserve. Einstein made the statement that to expect different results doing the same thing borders on insanity.

Slide 4 (How does the system work for all of us?)

A brief review of business; you are a cogwheel, either driving or taking energy. The new challenges must enable you to drive harder, to fit better, to choose different places to fit in the engine, giving the executives what they need, aligned with strategy, giving the shareholders more return, which gives you more capital and more opportunity. Working with a team from week to week at agreed tasks, making sure you say yes to the right things and no to the things that won’t work for you. Delivering great value to a client when he comes shopping, remembering that the client brings the value that keeps the whole engine going, including getting you growing in your job and choosing the right challenges.

Those challenges that you choose must be aligned with the company strategy, the internal system, the client and there must be a clear line of sight to the shareholders, so they get more and you get more toys to play with. That will definitely make a big difference in moving you from the perceived boxes to the great spaces of choice and almost limitless growth.

Slide 5 (Know what you currently do for whom)

Let’s look at moving from the box to the great spaces. There are three steps. One is: know what you currently do for whom. On the website careerdevelopmentplan.net, you will see there’s a whole range of tools available to help you along and give you an idea of the value of what you do. In my coaching and the many companies I’ve built I’ve never found anybody that could articulate the value of what they do. Yesterday I was with executives from a company that has a three billion dollar turnover and the executives couldn’t articulate the value of what they do in that simple model. Understand it and discuss it, know what you do more of, know what you are going to do less of, and communicate clearly how that is in the interest of all the stakeholders.

Slide 6 (Prepare to communicate to influencers)

This you can do in groups around you and selected people, change them often, don’t get stuck with the same people. That gets back to more of the same equals less, you have to keep on moving. It’s a lot of fun, you make a lot of new friends. This preparation you can do in your groups, all the information is on the web for you, we can also make a contribution where necessary to accelerate you. You discuss, you prepare, you identify and you practice. Practice by yourself, even in a mirror, it is much cheaper that practising where it counts.

When people start playing golf they don’t go directly to an eighteen-hole golf course, since that would become a very long day and a very long walk. You want to practice first on the driving range, maybe get yourself a teaching pro. We recommend that you use the people around you, that you use identified people, those are your teaching pros; they can observe and give you feedback. They will make very sure that you stay on track.

Slide 7 (Engage & communicate your work list to the decision makers)

Let’s look at the third step. You have now identified the people who can influence and assist you to gain access to the challenges that you want. The challenges you’ve chosen, why you’ve chosen them, the benefits of those challenges are clear and you’ve practised them. People love a man with a plan. I’ve never seen companies turn away a man with a plan. At North-West University in South Africa where we do a lot of pro bono work with Prof Japie Kroon we found that when students approach companies that they’ve chosen with a plan they always get the job they want. It’s extremely exciting to participate and see the excitement in their faces.

We recently had a very senior person earning $200 000 having the same experience, when he did the steps and he went back to his own environment he had a bit of a problem. He got six job offers and he’s having a very hard time deciding which one to say no to. What a nice problem to have! He sometimes gets frustrated with the choices, but I insist that’s it’s a super problem to have. You ask and you share, you use sharing and questioning skills, you respect, acknowledge, and say thank you. With a clear plan, nobody will refuse you if you have this approach. The supporting information is on the website for free.

Slide 8 (Fear and Fail and Risk)

To summarize the process; people often have fear, fear of failure and perceived risks. Fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real and fail stands for First Attempt in Learning. All our lives we have learnt that way, why stop now? It seems to me the higher up we go, the more scared we become. We learn a lot quicker when we are young; we learn impossible things and sometimes break an arm. Know what you want to do, prepare, engage and know your store of goodies. You have a long list of assets.

We find that people find it very hard to articulate their own assets. Relationships are one of the most valuable ones, just talk to the people around you, they will tell you things that you won’t believe. There are also a lot of free tools on the website to help you articulate the value you have already accumulated and earned. The resources outside are almost limitless, if you use this process to engage those resources they will never say no to you. You will be amazed at what is available if you engage in an organized and planned way.

It’s like making your own staircase and climbing it. I know that’s a bit scary when you are in a safe place and you want to move. To make and climb the staircase at the same time may appear scary but if it’s a clear system it’s secure and safe. You explore, you prepare, you engage. In the process of going external and bringing it internal you already accelerate and grow your store, as people doing the process have found. The executives agreed that if they do this process they will grow their own careers and their company.

In the process you align your job with your chosen company, which you can change, and your chosen industry, you can change even that. The more you change, it just takes a bit longer, but you use your current store, current position to make sure you make that transition safe and secure. Then you align the work you do with the job and the career you want long term. I find very few people have a long term career aim or beacon; they just do the job and hope to get paid more. Now you know you’re going to get paid more. You end up being in charge of your future and your career aims, they are aligned, you have a plan. This gives you clear insight, knowledge and an absolute confidence which people just love. You will see that it attracts people. You will move towards the great spaces from the perceived limitations, boxes, where it’s like a glass plate, you can see it but you can’t touch it. The glass plate simply disappears. The examples around us are very heartening and it is part of my passion to see people take wing and fly. It’s such a joy to see their eyes light up, that’s what makes my life today.

Slide 9 (Start with the purpose, the Why)

We build in that you have a clear career purpose, job purpose that is aligned with the company’s vision and mission. Your objectives and short term goals, the tasks that you do daily, should dynamically be kept in line with changes in the vision and mission. It is very important to us that people realize that any career is almost the same as a business plan or project plan. It has similar elements. It is worthwhile to use the tools.

Slide 10 (The right job thinking discussion)

Let’s look at the rules. Many people spend their time resisting, fighting and querying the rules. Accept the rules, you can always influence them later. Know the rules. Align your decisions to thrive in the rules, whether the rules are good or bad don’t really matter that much. Also move along by asking other people, by engaging other people, you will open up the space of the possible. This is where you’ll probably find your new challenges. You will move the line along to increase your productivity space and move.

Slide 11 (The approach to engage people should be)

How do you approach these people? The key thing is to ask questions and you have to understand how to ask open questions, exploratory questions, and closed questions. All this information is available free on the website. If you practise this information with your friends while aiming in your own direction, discovering and exploring, by the time you come to the influencers you are ready and confident. Remember a man with confidence is always welcome.

Careerdevelopmentplan.net

Let’s take a brief look at the website. Specific, measurable, accountable goals are critical. If you look at planning your performance you can see there’s a whole lot of business and career tools available here. We’ve bundled them in groups to address specific situations, not like a library, although they are also available as a library. You can look at a whole lot of issues under Performance Management on the site. There is also Career Success and Career Mentorship. Let’s look at Career Planning and Performance as an example, we have bundled a whole group of tools that are applicable to that specific career performance. This will support you in choosing your next challenges, communicate your value, and become a strong driving cogwheel in the business model.

Slide 12 (Business toolset, Personal toolset)

For those who are ready for more challenges, that very privileged position, moving from the perception of limitations to the great space there’s the business toolset that I’ve just touched on, there is also the personal toolset that is aligned. I want to invite you to look out for the next Career Maker System email and we hope you will enjoy it. Congratulations if you are in this position where you have a great job and all you now have to do is to know which challenges to say yes to and which to say no to.

What others are saying:

Llewelyn VenterCurrent Professional Coaching Student

"Roughly 3 weeks ago I was in a terrible place. I was frustrated, full of fear, had run out of options, and felt I had nowhere
left to go - a really BAD space. Unre, within 6 hours, kickstarted a process of turning this completely around - through what
I like to think of as an "intervention" of sorts - solid situation coaching and making me aware of options I didn't even know
existed. 3 weeks on, and my life has literally taken a 180-degree turn for the better, I feel relaxed, in control of my life again,
confident and full of positive energy. The journey has just begun - here's to my coach, mentor and councillor - thanks Unre!"Click here to view my Linked-In Profile...